Narrator Richa Moorjani's heartfelt voice elegantly balances teen antics like crushing on someone and hanging out with friends and the serious complications of living in a racist society. In this current coming-of-age story, Zara and her family--who've been waiting for years for their green cards to be approved--struggle with the repercussions of her peers' racist actions. Although listeners might find Moorjani's tone to be a bit detached at first, her individual characters are unique and dynamic. Zara sounds confident and passionate. While her father comes across as steady, loving, and intense, her mother sounds softer, more worried. With all these unique characters, Moorjani demonstrates an engaging energy, drawing listeners into a riveting and touching story filled with rich personalities and experiences.
(Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: April 6, 2021
Duration: 5 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781338637632
Publisher: Scholastic Audiobooks
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Al-Kaisi’s performance reflects Asad’s gradual transformation, making his growth and his hopeful next steps...
Seventeen-year-old Asad is the eldest of seven children living and working in a Gazan refugee camp. Asad’s father is in prison, and the family lives in poverty with no possibility of relief. This audiobook’s power lies in Asad’s poignant inner monologues. Fajer Al-Kaisi’s narration immerses listeners in Asad’s desolation and overwhelming sense of responsibility. Al-Kaisi’s renderings of Asad’s conversations with Um Fawzi, a frank and wise elderly woman, depict both her caring and the vividness of her journeys beyond Gaza. Houriya is an erudite young woman who expands Asad’s worldview with well-chosen books.
Al-Kaisi’s performance reflects Asad’s gradual transformation, making his growth and his hopeful next steps believable. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: June 16, 2026
Duration: 3 hrs, 27 mins
DD ISBN: 9798898852153
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2026
Listeners will be inspired by this principled prime minister who tackled her country’s biggest challenges with...
Aspiring leaders, take note! In her Kiwi accent, Jacinda Ardern narrates this heartfelt and sincere adaptation of her memoir A Different Kind of Power, eliciting chuckles with amusing anecdotes and tears over tragedies. Ardern recounts her modest childhood, her unlikely path to politics, and her rise to New Zealand’s highest office as a young, pregnant, unmarried woman—armed with empathy, intelligence, faith, supportive loved ones, and a desire to serve. She shepherded her country through a volcanic eruption, Covid-19, and a mass shooting. Her heartrending narration of the shooting switches to steely resolve as she works to ban assault rifles.
Listeners will be inspired by this principled prime minister who tackled her country’s biggest challenges with kindness. (Memoir. 12-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2026
Duration: 5 hrs, 55 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217342044
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: tomorrow
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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